My Predictions:
RPG-Inspired System, "Create-a-Fighter" Mii, "Sticker" Battles
Gameplay is going to be very customizable and each mode will be connected by some kind of RPG-inspired database. Mii's will likely be used as a custom character, much like SoulCalibur's create-a-character and most of the Mii's moves will either be inspired from the Wii series of games or will be generic versions of current moves (such as Mario's fireball). Regular characters will also have various moves you can choose to assign to a specific special button or get rid of (for example, you can choose to have Mario's down special be a Mario Tornado or a FLUDD). "Stickers", or something similar, are going to be used way more and the main gameplay will revolve around assigning "stickers" before battle.
Better Trophies, Return of Bonuses
While this probably isn't going to happen, I want better rewards and post-game bonuses. The trophies in brawl were uninteresting and almost all of them were just characters from Subspace Emissary (those "primids" or whatever they're called are even more generic than fighting wire frames). Don't even know why they got rid of bonuses; those added a lot to the experience.
One More Third Party Rep, From Namco
As much as I believe Black Mage and Megaman (or Ryu) should be the next third party guest characters, I'm a bit against their inclusion because Smash Bros. is about Nintendo characters. On the flip side, characters like the ones I listed are also connected with Nintendo at times, despite being third parties. Obviously, the most likely third party inclusion will come from Namco and will either be Pacman (which I don't mind) or Lloyd Irving (which I would be against).
Character Prediction
I personally don't believe there is that much thought process into choosing characters (obviously, there's a thought process behind designing characters, but that's different than choosing), so I'm probably overthinking who is going to be in. Kalas from Baten Kaitos is one of Monolith Soft's first games and another collaboration between Namco and Nintendo. If Kalas gets in, Shulk will most likely not get in though, and I personally think Shulk has a better design (to be honest, haven't played either of the games yet).
Don't see what so bad with cutting characters from Brawl. Sure, Fox, Falco, and Wolf all have fairly different styles, but they really do feel a lot alike. Going back to my first prediction, removing Falco and Wolf would allow for Fox to have their moves by assigning them before battle. Same goes with giving Ness Lucas' moves. Link and Toon Link should become one entity (its stupid to have them be different and Link is garbage enough as it is).
We'll probably get one more Mario / Mario Spin-Off rep, most likely being Bowser Jr., Waluigi, or even Captain Syrup. I think Ashley & Red from WarioWare would be cool to have but it would probably be best not to include her. Waluigi honestly sounds the most likely; Sakurai's tone on Waluigi's page during the Dojo days sounded as if Sakurai wanted Waluigi to be playable and for whatever reason, he just wasn't (To whoever wrote this: "once an assist trophy, always an assist trophy", I don't believe this statement because 1. things change, you even put down Little Mac as an exception, and 2. Charizard used to be a pokeball pokemon, but is now a character, or at least 1/3's of one).
Probably a fifth pokemon rep; I'd personally like to see Dragonite as a character, but that's far too weird imo. The reason I'd like to see it, other than the pokemon's fanbase, is that it would play so differently than the rest (Dragonite may have a similar physique to Charizard, but they would definitely play differently) and is a great size. All the pokemon we have right now are fairly squishy and small (Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Squirtle, Venusaur, and even Lucario is a pretty a lightweight character). I don't think Dragonite should be a character (it would definitely be interesting) but I would much like a "heavy" pokemon (aside from Charizard), or a radically different Pokemon, to go along with the rest.
Little Mac feels like a given at this point. Saki Amamiya and Isaac will unfortunately stay as assist trophies. With the inclusion of the RPG system, I think Ray Mk III is a great addition. Could see Takamaru since his popularity appears to be steadily increasing, but he probably would be better as an assist trophy.
